We felt very disrespected, for the simple fact that we were coming into the season highly ranked, and they had a White Out game. I thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, do not drop this." Larry Coker knew that once that baton got handed off, he wasn't changing anything. In my game story, headlined "UM-BELIEVABLE!" Prior to the 2006 Rose Bowl, ESPN's SportsCenter ran a special in which the 2005 USC Trojans, led by stars Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and LenDale White, were compared with the greatest college teams of the past 50 years, as picked by sports fans voting on ESPN.com, to determine their place in history. Privacy Policy I wanted to win the national championship -- we wanted to win the national championship. I had a front-row seat as the Miami beat writer for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that season. Johnson was a member of the Hurricanes' most recent national championship team in 2001. I was like, "Coach, call whatever you want, we're gonna win." Mission Statement In interviews with players and coaches, here . It's nothing new to us. Jan 7, 2009. Truly perfected that.". Dorsey Ed was somebody that would really talk to players. It was like, this is going to be outstanding for the next three, four, five years. Dorsey passed for 362 yards and 3 touchdowns, while wide receiver Andre Johnson caught 7 passes for 199 yards and 2 touchdowns. Soldinger We had it in us, and we knew we had it in us. Where . Vilma played for the 2001 Hurricanes; Bush played for the 2004 Trojans, widely regarded as two of the most talented teams ever assembled. They always had a good running back and good offensive line, and that is a hostile environment. Ed Reed, Kenny Dorsey -- they took ownership of everything: Lifting, the workouts in the summer, coming in to watch film. A stacked running back room, which featured Frank Gore as the No. It's Ed!". . You had Phillip Buchanon and Mike Rumph, and you had Antrel Rolle behind them. It got a lot of attention. Some felt that Miami got snubbed in a chance to compete for the BCS Championship game. It was my first game ever to be a head coach and it was against Joe Paterno. Dorsey Join our linker program. Gore has added another 77 rushing touchdowns on his way into the NFL record books. The events of 9/11 caused a pause in college football, with games that weekend either being canceled or postponed, and Miami's game against Washington would be rescheduled for later that season. Of course, Miami players are going to take up for their own team and scream from the rooftops that 2001 Miami is the GOAT. We wanted to beat them for two reasons, right? In all, 17 players from the team became first-round draft picks, and 38 players would be drafted, with stars like Vilma, Reed, Shockey, Wilfork and Portis earning multiple Pro Bowl bids. We knew we were good, and when we got out there and played on Saturdays, the people we went against were not as good as the guys we had on our scout team. [citation needed] NFL individual records [when?] I don't know a single person that wasn't pissed headed into that game. Less Than 24 Hours to Renew Your Tickets. C Brett Romberg Miami won 187.[11]. The 2001 Miami Hurricanes are considered the greatest college football team in college football history. Privacy Policy This Week in Miami Hurricanes Basketball: 2/27 Edition. As did what happened in October, when Miami -- ranked No. The Hurricanes led 34-0 at halftime and could have easily won 59-0 had they decided to play their starters the majority of the second half. 15 Washington 3429 on the road, while the Seminoles' lone loss was on the road to the #7 team in the country by 3. But despite being outgained by the Hurricanes by 134 yards and being dominated in time-of-possession, the Hokies never quit. The guys before us set an expectation of how hard you had to work and what that standard was, and we knew we had to live up to that. We didn't know it was going to come down to a 2-point conversion, but the football Gods were with us on that day, and that kid dropped that ball. But I remember a few days before the game we did a two-minute drill, our No. Can the Lions fix their defense? The nearly hundred-year-old Hurricanes pennant once waved by a member of Miami's original freshman class. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Wayne and Moss were Seniors on that . / But I did have the feeling that we were going to win the national championship and we were going to do whatever it took to make it happen. I had to challenge them, because if not, they're looking at you like, "What is this?" Given all the challenges associated with the 2020 season, the Crimson Tide could easily make their case. We look at each other, like how the hell did we do this? We're dead. No. He didn't want it to be close. Everybody's fired up. After an interception, Ed Reed strips the ball from his teammate and takes it for a touchdown to seal Miami's win vs. Boston College during the 2001 season. To solidify going to a national championship without having to worry about if somebody else was going to lose -- that was special. It didn't really hit me until afterward. That's what you love about great leaders is they respect their teammates, they love their teammates, but they're going to hold their teammates accountable. / We let them drive right before the half and Ed Reed wasn't in that drive because he had dinged up his shoulder. Chudzinski What set those guys apart was what was inside of them -- in their heads and in their hearts, how they competed and how they prepared and how they loved and how they were passionate about playing the game. Reed has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We were pissed. It was a bunch of these things that made us feel disrespected. Miami followed up the victory with wins over Rutgers,[5] Pitt,[6] and Troy State.[7]. Jump inside of it. Renew Now , University of Miami 2023. If Greg Schiano had not left and gone to Rutgers it would've been a potential for him to get the job, but I was glad for the staff and players that there wouldn't be a blow-up. And I'll never forget seeing the wave of red of Nebraska fans pulling up that seemed like it went for miles. I still have visions of Tommie Frazier leaving Gator defenders in his wake. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. . Williams They remain the only team to have its first-, second-, third- and fourth-string running backs all later become running backs with a start in the NFL. (From 1937 to 2001, bowl games did not count towards season statistics). I remember four or five guys jumped on me and next thing you know I'm looking at the ground and by the time I roll over and look up, I see Ed going. It was always tough. They signed players such as two-star safety Ed Reed, out of Louisiana, and Joaquin Gonzalez, an under-the-radar offensive lineman from Miami, and overlooked junior college transfers such as Jeremy Shockey and Bryant McKinnie. NFL draft questions for teams in the top 10: Will the Colts trade up? And I did that, and I was like, "Oh, man, that felt good." I was hurt before this game. [4] A lot of people doubted if they should have made the championship. 1 in both polls -- was sitting at No. I was chasing Ed, and Ed did some little backyard football by running zig zags in order not to get caught, and then he spikes the ball to put the emphasis on that play. [6] [7] The Hurricanes have had at least one former player make the Pro Bowl every season since 1985, 31 years in a row. I would have got drafted higher and everything. See our list of forfeits and vacated games for more details. Mario Cristobal has not only flipped the roster following his first season in Coral Gables he's been busy tinkering with his coaching staff, too. Back then, we had availabilities three times a week with players, an open locker room after games and access to practice, too. When I caught it, I wasn't thinking about running it back for a touchdown. Kenny was the perfect guy. It's a really tight locker room, we're getting ready to go out, and I absolutely remember it like it was yesterday, and I remember getting chills from hearing his battle cry, just like coming out in the second half, we're putting this away. The 2001 Miami Hurricanes are considered the greatest college football team in college football history. Walters Coker Davenport was also an effective weapon as a receiver catching 35 balls for 3 touchdowns in orange and green. . The older guys took us under their wings and helped us. Rumph Take Ed Reed. I wanted to play more. Chudzinski It goes beyond the talent, which speaks for itself: 38 NFL draft picks, including 17 first-rounders and at least one Hall of Famer in Ed Reed. The individual's put on the back burner for your brothers. We didn't do anything right. NFL draft questions for teams in the top 10: Will the Colts trade up? / The motivation of being upset and disappointed, that played a huge role in going to the Sugar Bowl and what we did against Florida to make a statement that we probably should've been the champs. Like, literally none. Still, the resilient Hokies had one more chance to win the game late, taking possession of the ball at midfield and needing only a field goal to take the lead. We knew what we had on paper, but to see how we were dominating, and the energy we produced in such a hostile environment, it was like, "OK, wow, we are who we think we are.". We knew what route was coming on that play. It wasn't something given. At fullback the Canes used two starters in Najeh Davenport and Kyle Cobia. Reed is seen shouting at his teammates, "I'm hurt dog! I didn't know at the time that this would be talked about as one of the best teams in college football. I knew this. He was the perfect coach for our team, and his personality just meshed with us. I went to the University of Florida, where as a freshman in 1995, the Nebraska Cornhuskers staked their claim to the greatest-of-all-time throne after dismantling the Gators in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. We line up, and Ed goes, "Mike, here comes the slant. He didn't care about scolding players if they didn't do their jobs. So I think that describes how good they were.". He was probably the most hated guy in all of Blacksburg that night, but at the same time thank you so much, because you just kind of saved us some heartache. Three trades in a chaotic top five, The new law changing service academy football, and the coaches pushing back, Realignment chatter: How the Pac-12 holds the key to it all. Terms of Service We weren't trying to sit here and showcase how fast and athletic we were. They embraced it, and that's when I learned the great ones want to be driven. Dorsey The environment was pretty spectacular. [1] The Hurricanes scored 512 (42.6 points per game) points while yielding only 117 (9.75 points allowed per game). Oh, absolutely I was scared. We were exhausted. Let's go, man! Schumann returning to Georgia, Adelson: 2001 Canes make case for college football's GOATs, Miami's turnover chain set a celebratory standard across the college football landscape. We knew when I was there, but in 2001, it became reality. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Women's Basketball. From there, this iconic team started its journey toward greatness. HURRICANES IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME: NAME: SCHOOL(S) POS: YEARS: INDUCTED: Bennie Blades: Miami: S: 1984-87 2006: Don Bosseler: Miami FB: 1953-56 1990: Andy . Walters Baseball. Every one of those games was a physical, physical affair. There are vivid moments that stand out to me that season. / They were All-Pro NFL players," said Rick Neuheisel, who was Washington coach at the time. The Pro Football Hall of Fame class will be inducted during NFL Honors, which airs on ABC at 9 p.m. I think also, what rattled them was how much fun we had while being violent and being intense. Walters Cleveland scored . The way Miami broke the will of Syracuse and Washington in back-to-back games, outscoring them by a combined 124-7. [17] Additionally, the Hurricane defense scored eight touchdowns of its own. McGahee ran for 4.7 yards per carry and three touchdowns in reserve duty behind Clinton Portis in 2001. Meanwhile, the stifling Miami defense shut down Heisman-winner Eric Crouch and the Huskers vaunted option offense, holding Nebraska 200 yards below its season average. Gore finished his Miami career with 1,975 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground. McGahee didnt have the most prolific career, but the two years he suited up in his orange and green gear were exciting. Nevertheless, Miami was left with a bitter sense of disappointment, believing they had been deprived of a shot at a potential national championship. I mean, he was pretty much automatic for them. We were just too big, strong and fast, and way too physical. He was the guy that really knew how to push our buttons, that knew how to challenge us. We used to say that was the easiest workout and we would suck our fingers, like that was pie. We all loved Dorsey, but we knew we had other skill sets and talent on that team. One of the things that happened in practice, we caught a few guys in the stadium trying to record our practices, seeing how we were going to stop the triple option. In the 2002 Rose Bowl against Nebraska, Portis ran for 104 yards and a touchdown with another long touchdown run called back for a phantom holding. So a lot of times when I hear his voice, I can sense that disappointment that he felt with that being his last go around. I don't want to sound disrespectful, but we were five steps faster than them, 10 pounds hungrier, much more violent, which is a different style of football. He made things happen. Miami took a 34-0 halftime lead before cruising to a 37-14 victory, winning the school's fifth national championship. 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April 2
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